Environmental
cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) for this year is being discussed at a five-day forum in Beijing.
The 2019
ASEAN-China Environmental Cooperation Week started Monday and includes five
seminars on ASEAN-China cooperation.
Topics for the
seminars include national focal points for environmental cooperation,
eco-friendly cities, operational and technical issues in environmental
information sharing, and climate change policies and actions.
Zhang Jieqing,
deputy head of the department of international cooperation with the Ministry of
Ecology and Environment, said that environmental cooperation between China and
ASEAN countries has achieved remarkable results.
"ASEAN
countries are welcomed to actively participate in the construction of the green
Belt and Road to push the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development," she said.
Tu Ruihe, UN
Environment's chief representative in China, said that 28 percent of the
world's metropolises are in the Asia-Pacific region.
By 2050 about 63
percent of the global urban population will live in the region, he said.
He said that
China and ASEAN countries have developed their economies rapidly, but now face
environmental challenges including climate change, food safety and poverty
alleviation.
Tackling these
challenges requires these countries to cooperate, he said.
The forum has
been held eight times since 2011, gathering policymakers, researchers,
entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders from China, ASEAN and international
organizations.
The foreign
economic cooperation office with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held
the 2019 forum.